Week 13 Discussion

In the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the author uses simple sentences to convey the narrative. For example, he writes, “This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night.” Carver’s writing is direct and doesn’t include detailed words or lengthy descriptions. Instead, he displays the characters’ personalities and emotions through their dialogues. The narrator, for instance, shows the relationship between his wife and the blind man by showing their interactions. In the short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, the author uses simple language to describe the exact details of Madame Loisel’s situation. When Madame Loisel receives an invitation to a ball, de Maupassant writes: “She was upset by how poor her home looked, with its plain walls, old chairs, and ugly curtains.” This detailed description of Madame Loisel’s surroundings helps the reader understand how she feels about her societal place. Both Carver and de Maupassant engage in simple writing styles, yet they each emphasize different aspects. Carver places a great deal of emphasis on how individuals interact and express themselves through their speech, while de Maupassant employs detailed descriptions to illustrate societal incidents.

Raymond Carter’s writing style can easily be described as plain. Most notably, the way he conveys his story is simple. For example, in “Cathedral” his first-person narrative uses plain talk, using little metaphors or literary elements to convey the message. That doesn’t mean the story is without charm, his writing style communicates the awkward interactions and underlying emotions humans display. In contrast, writers such as Guy de Maupassant utilize situational irony and humor as literary devices to develop a sense of individuality. For example, in The Necklace, he utilized situational irony to emphasize the karmic results of deceit and manipulation- especially in cases of selfishness and narcissism.

When reading Raymond Carvar stories, I noticed right away how different this story is then the ones we have read this past semester. Raymond Carvar style of writing in more smoother and easy to understand right away. Usually reading stories or articles it takes me twice to read to fully process what is happening. His method of writing is very specific where you can picture the story, and very straightforward. When reading the other stories such as “Oedipus the King”, it is more advice writing that lots of metaphors is being used to describe a problem. “Many, my children, are the tears I’ve wept, and threaded many a maze of weary thought” ( Oedipus). This is expressing the feeling of grief. Reading Oedipus the king, I had to read back many times and search up many words for their meaning, I did have several troubles understand the story when I read it once but when I read it twice and understand each problem of each line it got more easier.

Compare/contrast the pared down writing style of Raymond Carver to the style of another writer whose work we have read this semester. Provide examples from both stories to support your ideas. When reading this question I immediately thought of “Salavation” written by Langston Hughes because I feel as if both tones were raw and direct. In “Salvation,” Hughes recounts a moment from his youth when he grappled with the concept of salvation and the expectations of his community. “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved. It happened like this.”(Hughes, Line 1). Similarly Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” uses a raw tone, reflecting the characters’ struggle to connect emotionally. For instance, the narrator describes his wife’s past interactions with Robert, saying, “They talked of things that had happened to them—to them!—these past ten years.”(Carver,218)  

I would say the author Raymond Carver’s writing style exercises simplicity while also targeting the key points of literature. Some of these key points I am referring to is the attention to detail to make the reader imagine what is being talked about but he does it in a way that you can understand it. ” October. Here in this dank, unfamiliar kitchen I study my father’s embarrassed young man’s face. Sheepish grin, he holds in one hand a string of spiny yellow perch, in the other a bottle of Carlsbad Beer” (Carver). Most of the time when I’m am reading a story, i would have to read it once or twice in order for me to understand what the context of the story is or to help myself grasp the emotional scene. With the writing of Raymond Carver, I find myself only having to read his work once. This reminds me of the story “The Handsomest Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Marquez used detail that was easy to understand but also gave you enough to receive the emotion of every character in this story. Marquez’s explanation of expression on the women’s faces when they found the drowned man let us know how they were all feeling when they saw him. The body language of the husbands told us of the annoyance they had with their wives being so infatuated with this dead man, as the husbands referred to him as.

during class when we read Raymond Carver’s work I noticed that his style of writing is simple and to the the point. the way he tells his stories makes it easy for whoever is reading because he writes casually almost as if he is speaking and telling his story out loud. This writer doesn’t describe his stories using words that have a sense of imagination or mystery to them when reading his story Cathedral you can see his simple and casual way of going through the story. looking through his work I’ve noticed that what he writes about has a sense of realism to it. comparing his work with the poet Robert Frost this poet’s work contains a sense of mystery and imagination especially when you look at his poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Although this poem is shorter than Raymond carvers work it still requires thought. This is because of his use of descriptive language in a way where he’s saying something without saying too much.

Raymond Carver’s minimalist writing style is starkly different from Flannery O’Connor’s rich, descriptive approach. In Carver’s “Cathedral,” the language is spare, with simple sentences that convey the complexities of the characters’ lives through dialogue and subtext. For example, when the narrator tries to describe a cathedral to a blind man, the lack of elaborate description emphasizes the communication gap between them. Contrast this with O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” where the narrative is laden with detailed descriptions and a strong sense of place, such as the way she paints the setting: “The trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled.” O’Connor uses these details to foreshadow and build tension, leading to the story’s climactic moment.

Raymond Carver’s and Joyce Carol Oates writing takes on different styles several ways. Carver takes a pared-down style in “Cathedral,” focusing on minimalism and plain communication. He uses basic language to express a feeling of reality, focusing on everyday occurrences and allowing readers to draw deeper meanings from the interactions between people. For example, Carver’s descriptions are limited, but the deeper meaning is full with passion, such as when the blind guy and the narrator bond while painting a church. In comparison, Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” uses a more thorough and richly descriptive approach. Her writing is full of rich imagery, which adds tension and creates an exciting setting. The first scene, in which she explains Connie’s duality is an excellent example of her careful style, “Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home.” Oates use of rich descriptions draws readers into the characters inner and outside worlds, resulting in a deeper narrative setting. As a result, while Carver’s method is more specific , Oates approach is broader and more diverse.

The writing style of Raymond Carver in “Cathedral” is clear and simple compared to other writers whose work we have read this semester. In Carver’s stories you didn’t really have to do much to understand it because Carver makes it simple for the reader to understand the story unlike other stories in which you had to read it multiple times before you understand the story. Gabriel Garcia’s story ““The Most Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” on the other hand is more complex and requires you to imagine how things are happening in the story. You might also read over the story again in order to better understand the message that the writer is trying to show. Carver’s story don’t require much understanding as he makes it easier to understand, the only thing that was confusing was the ending of the story. At the end of the day, everybody has their own writing style.

Analyzing the writing of Raymond Carver and comparing it to another writer we’ve got studied this semester, we can examine distinct differences. Carver’s minimalist approach is clear in his story “Cathedral,” wherein he makes use of easy language and sparse descriptions to carry deep feelings and complicated subject matters. Raymond doesn’t leave readers to discover it on their own except for the ending in which he ends it abruptly, he holds their hand throughout the read. The mood in this story didn’t feel dark. Unlike The Handsomest Drowned Man the story we read at the start of the semester, this story has a lot of details and you need to have multiple reads in order to find the complete meaning of the story, it took me multiple read to find all of the details that I missed. This story was kind of gloomy especially when you read the beginning where the village seems like a deserted wasteland.

Raymond Carver’s writing style in “Cathedral” features simple tones yet deep character portrayals. He demonstrates a high level of skill in his dialogues, making them appear very natural and realistic. Through dialogue, he conveys information while also leaving gaps, allowing readers to infer the unspoken emotions and intentions between characters. His meticulous descriptions of dialogue and actions reveal the psychological states and emotional depths of the characters. This contrasts with Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s style in “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” where he uses the villagers’ fantasies to enrich the narrative with multiple layers of reality. Carver focuses on concise, direct, and realistic depictions, while Marquez creates a world filled with magical and symbolic significance.

The writing style by Raymond Carver in “Cathedral” the author uses a very simple conversational and colloquial tone. Raymond Carver uses a conversational tone and diction to show the narrators character. The dialogue from the character is very vague, simple, mocking. Also that the wording of the conversation being very blunt and straightforward. In “My Daughter and Apple Pie” just by the title its very straightforward with not much meaning or leaving the reader to interpret anything else. In the first few lines “She serves me a piece of it a few minutes out the oven. A little steam rises from the slits on top. Even in the authors works of poetry he tells the reader exactly what’s happening. In contrast to author Gabriel Garica Marquez’s writing style in stories like “The Most Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” the author uses vibrant, descriptive, imaginative story telling. Garica uses imagery and magical realism describing the body and face of the drowned man and how his presence affected the villagers.

Raymond Carver and Gabriel Garcia Marquez have very different writing styles.  In “Cathedral” written by Raymond Carver is simple and concise.  He uses short sentences and not many words to show how the main character feels and how people interact.  For example, “She wanted to talk. They talked. He asked her to send him a tape and tell him about her life. She did this. This shows how simple, short, and concise his sentences are. In ‘The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez his writing style is very magical. His style blends elements of fantasy or myth. He has a rich, imaginative style, drawing the reader into surreal and enchanting places. For example, “The first children who saw the dark and slinky bulge approaching through the sea let themselves think it was an enemy ship. Then they saw it had no fags or masts and they thought it was a whale. But when it washed up on the beach, they removed the clumps of seaweed, the jellyfish tentacles, and the remains of fish and flotsam, and only then did they see that it was a drowned man. This writing style evokes a sense of wonder and anticipation as the villagers discover the mysterious figure washed up ashore. Marquez uses descriptive language and imagery.

Raymond Carver is style in “Cathedral” I experienced simplicity, minimalism style and story telling. In very concise wording such as “We ate everything there was to eat on the table.” He explores ordinary moments and emotions with a every day language making it more natural. In contrast Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s style in stories like “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” is more poetic, imaginative, and metaphorical, Garcia  uses a imagery and magical realism in his story, describing the drowned man’s body as the most handsome thing the villagers have ever seeing, different and beautiful. Both writers effectively explore their profound inspiration  about the human experience through their pieces. When reading the stories a have noticed that every author has their own identity when writing, every one has the unique wording, story telling, topics and ideas that are placed in their pieces as we can explore them.

Raymond Carver employs a concise writing style in “Cathedral,” focusing on everyday details that carry profound emotional weight. In the story, the narrator’s initial feelings about Robert’s visit are depicted with straightforward language: “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me.” This direct approach allows readers to grasp the narrator’s underlying discomfort and prejudice without extensive explanation. In contrast, James Joyce’s “Araby” features a more elaborate style with vivid imagery and introspective narration. For instance, the protagonist’s description of Mangan’s sister is filled with sensory details: “Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side.” Joyce’s use of rich language and detailed observations immerses readers in the protagonist’s infatuation and inner world. Joyce’s lyrical style and reflection allow a deeper exploration of human experiences and emotions, whereas Carver’s succinctness and understatement effectively portray feelings.

To me Raymond Carver style of writing is very detailed orientated to detail  He did not leave his readers or listeners guessing about the setting and/or scenery. He told you exactly what his surroundings were or what was happening in relation to his topics with no room for self interpretation. For example in the his poem “My daughter and Apple Pie,” he said, “She serves me a piece of it a few minutes out of the oven. A little steam rises from the slits on top. Sugar and spice -cinnamon – burned into the crust. But she’s wearing these dark glasses in the kitchen at ten o’clock in the morning.” In these first 7 lines he describes his setting and what is currently going on at that moment in the poem to his listeners. This is a very different style of writing than the poet Gwendolyn Brooks in her poem, “We real cool.” To me she left her listeners guessing about the setting and was not very detailed orientated.

The writing style of Raymond Carver is very simple and blunt. He says exactly what is going on and you do not have to wonder. In the very first few sentences, he explains that a blind man was “on his way to spend the night. His wife died. So he was visiting the dead wife’s relatives in Connecticut.” As shown here, he leaves no detail out. However in “Araby” by James Joyce, he sets the scenery and leaves the suspense for his readers. He is very descriptive in his imagery as he explains the “uninhabited house of two stories stood at the blind end, detached from its neighbors in a square ground.” James’ attention to detail is a huge contrast to Raymond’s style of writing. Until James explained the character had “never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood.” The readers weren’t completely sure if he knew this woman he seemed to be so fond of. Unlike Raymond, who told us from the beginning what the mood between of characters and tone was.

After reading “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, I noticed that his style of writing is simple. To me, he writes in a way that is not complicated for the reader to get his ideas. When I was reading the story (Cathedral) I found it very easy for me to keep up with the flow of his writing. However, I don’t understand the ending lol. I had to read the ending a few times to try to understand it. In “Photograph of my Father” he also writes in a very simple way to be a poem. “In jeans and denim shirt, he leans against the front fender of a 1934 Ford”. In contrast we read poems from authors like Robert Browning who write “My Last Duchess’ ‘using a deeper style of writing. In my opinion, his poem is way harder to read because of the language that he used. For example “The depth and passion of its earnest glance, But to myself they turned” This quote from “My Last Duchess” is an example of how his style of writing is way different from Carver’s style.